March Meeting 2015 • March 2 - 6 • San Antonio, Texas

Focus Topic Descriptions, 05.1.1 to 12.1.8

5: CHEMICAL PHYSICS (DCP)

5.1.1: Solvation of Ions and Electrons (DCP)

Solvation of charged species is at the heart of a wide variety of chemical and biochemical processes, such as charge transport, oxidation/reduction, cellular function and green chemistry. This focus session will explore the spectroscopy, structure, binding energies and dynamics of solvated ions and electrons in aqueous, non-aqueous and ionic liquid solutions, in the gas-phase and at interfaces. Contributions by physicists, chemists, and biophysicists to this session, from experimental and theoretical perspectives, are encouraged.

The small end of the nanomaterials world is where many unusual properties arise in studies of structure, chemical, optical, magnetic and electronic effects. These unusual properties arise for many reasons, including coordinative unsaturation in bonding, quantum confinement effects, splitting of bands, high defect densities, and many others. In this symposium we highlight semiconducting and metallic materials at the interface between molecules and bulk properties, including both theory and experimental papers, with emphasis on plasmonic optical properties, semiconducting quantum dot optical, magnetic and electrical properties, and studies of carbon nanotubes/graphene and other forms of carbon.

Clusters of atoms and molecules play critical roles in many science and technology areas such as catalysis (e.g., small metal clusters show unique catalytic behavior) and atmospheric and astrochemical sciences (e.g., small molecular complexes can play a role in chemical transformation). Clusters also mediate phase transitions leading to new particle formation and these nano- to micro-scale particles have applications in nanotechnology and form aerosols that influence atmospheric processes. Clusters in the rarefied gas-phase environments offer the opportunity to use probes not accessible in condensed phases and present models that bridge from gas to condensed phase properties and processes. The Focus Session on Chemical Physics of Clusters aims to highlight recent advances in methods to form neutral and ionic clusters, approaches to probe the structure, energetics and dynamics of clusters, and theoretical and computational approaches to gain detailed insight into these systems. Our goal is to cover approaches applicable to clusters of sizes ranging from those with just a few monomers to nanoscale particles made up of thousands to millions of components, to aerosol particles that are more representative of the condensed phase but with large surface-to-volume ratios. In addition, we seek to highlight forefront chemical physics research areas including but not limited to:

Structure of condensed phases and how these evolve with cluster size

Solvation of molecules and ions and the role of solvent environment on reactive nonreactive processes

The nature of non-covalent interactions

Reactivity of clusters of metal, metal oxide, and organometallic clusters

5.1.5: Nonadiabatic Dynamics: New Insights from Experiment and Theory (DCP)

Nonadiabatic dynamics, which involves nuclear motion on multiple coupled potential energy surfaces, has long been known to play a key role in the chemical physics of processes such as vision. Recent advances in experimental and theoretical methods have provided much new insight into the timescales and pathways for these processes, and such insights are now being used to address key issues in many fields, ranging from photovoltaics and solar energy conversion, to photochemistry and photophysics, to molecular based electronics, and many more. The Focus Session on Nonadiabatic Dynamics aims to highlight some of these recent advances, broadly spanning the realm of molecular sizes ranging from atoms to small molecules to large proteins, and chemical environments from the gas-phase to solid-state. The session will include advances from both experiment and theory, highlighting the inherent synergy between them.

6: ATOMIC, MOLECULAR AND OPTICAL (AMO) PHYSICS (DAMOP)

6.1.1: Driving and dissipation in AMO systems (DAMOP)

AMO systems (such as ultracold atoms, and trapped ions) are ideal for studying driven and dissipative quantum dynamics. Among other things, this includes engineering Hamiltonians by periodic driving, exploring how continuous measurement can sculpt quantum states, and various cooling schemes.

6.1.2: Quench dynamics in atomic gases and ions (DAMOP)

How does an isolated quantum system respond to a sudden change in the Hamiltonian? Does it reach equilibrium? What can one learn about the initial conditions by looking at the final state? How does one relate the number of excitations to the rate of parameter change? By studying these questions in AMO systems, one hopes to generate broad principles which can be applied elsewhere, such as in cosmology.

6.1.3: Strongly Spin-Orbit Coupled Materials (DMP) (DAMOP)

Strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in materials has become an active area of study, with much to be discovered and understood. Already it is fundamental to great activity in topological insulators, and the Rashba effect at surfaces and interfaces that is introducing new phenomena in relation to spintronics. The interplay of strong electronic correlations and large SOC is especially important in 5d materials, with Ir and Os ions attracting the most attention so far. The understanding of these materials requires a fundamental understanding of the new balance between SOC and other competing interactions including Coulomb interactions, crystal-field splittings, and exchange interactions. These competing energies can sometimes combine in unusual ways, as with the formation of the effective J=1/2 state in 5d5 configurations. Materials containing Ru4+, Re3+, Os4+, and Ir5+ ions having d4 configuration are also drawing increasing attention; higher valence states also can be exciting. The scope of this Focus Topic will encompass 4d- and 5d-transition-metal compounds, rare earth compounds, and heavy chalcogenide compounds, as long as issues of strong SOC arecentral to the understanding of their behavior. These classes of materials exhibit a wide variety of interesting physical phenomena including metal-insulator transitions, Mott insulator formation, strong Rashba splittings, strong magnetic anisotropies, and superconductivity. The emphasis however will be on materials issues in keeping with the mission of DMP.

AMO systems have become a platform for studying new states of matter - from Bose-Einstein condensates, to analogs of solid-state magnets. Ever more exotic states are being explored: counterflow superfluids, topological insulators... Researchers are challenged to find ways to produce these states, and to develop new paradigms.

6.1.5: Artificial Gauge Fields / Spin Orbit Coupling (DAMOP)

New physics emerges when one makes a gas of neutral atoms act like electrons in a magnetic field. Not only are researchers are developing new techniques for engineering artificial gauge fields and artificial spin-orbit coupling, they are also exploring important questions about how these systems behave.

7: INSULATORS AND DIELECTRICS (DCMP)

Complex oxides exhibit a rich variety of order parameters, such as polarization, magnetization, strain, charge and orbital degrees of freedom. The vast range of functional properties that emerge from their mutual coupling (e.g., ferroelectricity, magnetoelectricity, multiferroicity, metal-insulator transitions) are the main topics of interest for this symposium. Examples of current grand challenges include: (i) Novel mechanisms to break inversion symmetry in heterostructures and layered oxides. (ii) Viable routes to achieve a strong coupling between polarization and ferromagnetism at room temperature. (iii) Band-filling and bandwidth control in complex oxides (a prerequisite to harnessing charge/orbital order, magnetic transitions and metal insulator transitions). (iii) Electric field control of these phenomena - a very exciting prospect for both fundamental science and technology. (iv) Structure and properties of magnetoelectric domains and domain walls of these materials. (v) Emerging avenues to controlling polarization, magnetism and electronic properties via strain and/or strain gradients (e.g. flexoelectricity). Breakthroughs and progress in the theory, synthesis, characterization, and device implementations in these and other related topics are solicited for this Focus Topic.

There has been explosive growth in the study of topological materials in which the combined effects of the spin-orbit coupling and fundamental symmetries yield a bulk energy gap with novel gapless surface states robust against scattering. Moreover, the field has expanded in scope to include topological superconductors, Dirac and Weyl semimetals, Kondo insulators and complex heterostructures capable of harboring exotic topologically nontrivial states of quantum matter. The observation of theoretical predictions depends greatly on sample quality and there remain significant challenges in identifying and synthesizing the underlying materials having properties amenable to the study of the surface and interface states of interest. This topic will focus on fundamental advances in the synthesis, characterization and modeling of candidate topological materials in various forms including bulk single crystals, exfoliated and epitaxial thin films, epitaxially modulated heterostructures, nanowires and nanoribbons, and theoretical studies that illuminate the synthesis effort and identify new candidate materials. Of equal interest is the characterization of these samples using structural, transport, magnetic, optical and other spectroscopic techniques, and related theoretical efforts aimed at modeling various properties and the underlying spin-textures, spin-splittings and substrate effects, with particular focus on identifying samples whose properties are dominated by the surface and interface states.

This session will focus on the behavior of fluids confined to micron and nanometer length scales. It will concern the fundamental physics of confined multi-scale flows, including the role of interfaces, fluid structure and dynamics. It also will cover applications involving nano- and micro-fluidics, flow-induced assembly and the flow of colloids, liquid crystals, polymers, and biological materials.

Impurities and native defects profoundly affect the electronic and optical properties of semiconductor materials. Incorporation of impurities is nearly always a necessary step for tuning the electrical properties in semiconductors. In some cases, as in dilute III-V alloys, impurities even modify the band gap. Defects control carrier concentration, mobility, lifetime, and recombination; they are also responsible for the mass-transport processes involved in migration, diffusion, and precipitation of impurities and host atoms. The control of impurities and defects is the critical factor that enables a semiconductor to be engineered for use in electronic and optoelectronic devices as has been widely recognized in the remarkable development of Si-based electronics, the current success of GaN-based blue LED and lasers, and the emergence of ZnO for nanoelectronics sensors, and transparent conducting displays. The fundamental understanding, characterization and control of defects and impurities are essential for the development of new devices, such as those based on novel wide-band gap semiconductors, spintronic materials, and lowdimensional structures.

The physics of dopants and defects in semiconductors, from the bulk to the nanoscale, including surfaces and interfaces, is the subject of this focus topic. Abstracts on experimental and theoretical investigations are solicited in areas of interest that include: the electronic, structural, optical, and magnetic properties of impurities and defects in elemental and compound semiconductors, SiO2 and alternative dielectrics, wide band-gap materials such as diamond including NV centers, SiC, group-III nitrides, two-dimensional materials including phosphorus and BN, oxide semiconductors, and the emerging organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite (e.g., MAPbI3) solar cell materials are of interest. Likewise welcomed are abstracts on specific materials challenges involving defects, e.g., in processing, characterization, property determination, including imaging and various new nanoscale probes.

8.1.4: Building New Pathways in Physics Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education (FEd/FIAP) (FIAP) [Same as 24.1.2]

We live in an era of immense opportunity for physics graduates: their scientific training helps to make them key members of industry teams developing new technologies, or translating cutting-edge research into viable products. The future of the physics discipline depends on implementing new approaches which provide training for success in what is increasingly the largest employment base for physicists: the private sector.

This session will focus on new and successful pathways for implementing physics innovation and entrepreneurship (PIE) education into the physics curricula, in order to provide technical skills, project opportunities, and important real-world business skills to prepare them as resourceful innovators and entrepreneurs.

9: SUPERCONDUCTIVITY (DCMP)

9.1.1: Fe-based Superconductors (DMP/DCOMP) (DCMP)

Substantial experimental and theoretical progress has been made toward understanding the unusual normal and superconducting state properties of iron based superconductors (IBS). Yet, many challenges and controversies exist, often driven by recent discoveries of new or improved materials whose properties differ radically from the original set. This Focus Topic will cover the latest experimental and theoretical issues pertaining to the normal and superconducting properties of IBS and their parent compounds, both pnictide and chalcogenide based. By better understanding the relationship between these two families, and how the different crystalline, magnetic and electronic structures in IBS relate to the high critical temperatures, the goal is to cultivate the potential for discovering new superconducting systems and higher Tc values.

The search for new superconducting materials and/or the enhancement of existing superconductors remains one of the most important challenges in modern condensed matter physics. This is of crucial importance for not only understanding the fundamental nature of exotic superconducting states but also to fulfill their promise for widespread applications. This topic will focus on recent advances in the synthesis, characterization, and predictions of new superconductors, as well as approaches to optimizing the properties of materials such as but not restricted to iron-based and cuprate superconductors. Exploratory investigations of materials with promising structural or electronic motifs are encouraged, along with progress in the synthesis and characterization of existing compounds. New tools and approaches for characterizing and detecting superconductivity are also of particular interest. In addition to bulk materials, we will also focus on thin films and heterostructures grown using techniques such as pulsed laser deposition and molecular beam epitaxy which allow for the creation of atomically precise heterostructures which might enhance superconductivity (e.g. monolayer FeSe / SrTiO3) or metastable compounds.

To achieve transformational breakthroughs in superconductor performance, there is a need to understand and control vortex matter. The behavior of vortex matter is responsible for the entire electromagnetic behavior of applied superconductors. This focus topic will highlight recent advances in engineering vortex matter in films, wires and crystals via self-organized defects, magnetic pinning, nanofabrication and other mixed pinning landscapes to enhance their critical current and to produce novel controlled behavior such as ratcheting, self-adaptive pinning, reduced anisotropy and jamming, among others. In addition, theoretical modeling and predictions of novel vortex matter behavior through Monte Carlo and time dependent Ginzburg-Landau simulations will also be highlighted. This session will address experimental, computational, and theoretical directions in the pursuit of ‘vortex behavior by design’ in cuprates, Fe-based superconductors and other conventional, unconventional, and multiband superconductors.

Thanks to the ever increasing sophistication of materials synthesis, it is now evident that superconductivity can be remarkably robust even in the extreme two-dimensional (2D) limit. Superconducting ordering temperatures in the 2D limit may even exceed those of the bulk by a significant margin, as was shown recently for single-layer FeSe. In all cases, 2D materials need a substrate for support, and the coupling to (or perturbation by) the substrate will affect the superconducting properties of these materials, thus carrying a promise of interface engineering of superconductivity and superconducting device miniaturization. From a fundamental perspective, the role of magnetic fluctuations or substrate phonons in Cooper pairing in atomic sheet materials are interesting propositions, and possible harmonies with concepts from e.g. high Tc cuprate studies and recent studies of topologically non-trivial materials could significantly advance our understanding and control of 2D superconductivity. This focus topic, consisting of several sessions with both invited and contributing speakers, attempts to create an atmosphere conducive to a meeting of the minds in these fields. We invite theoretical and experimental contributions with a clear focus on the fundamental physics of low-dimensional superconductivity and on the materials aspects of superconducting sheet materials. Examples include but are not limited to superconductivity in monatomic metal films on semiconductors, chalcogenide sheets, silicene, or in a 2D electron gas at the interface of insulating oxide materials.

10: MAGNETISM (GMAG)

Reduced dimensionality, confinement, and reduced scale often lead to magnetic structures and spin behavior that is markedly different from that of the bulk. This Focus Topic explores the advances in magnetic nanostructures and the novel properties that arise in magnetic materials at the nanoscale. Magnetic nanostructures of interest include thin films, multilayers, superlattices, nanoparticles, nanowires, nanorings, nanocomposite materials, hybrid nanostructures, magnetic point contacts, and self-assembled as well as patterned magnetic arrays. Sessions will include talks on the methods used to synthesize such nanostructures, the variety of materials used, and the latest, original theoretical and experimental advances. Synthesis and characterization techniques that demonstrate nano- or atomic-scale control of properties will be featured. Phenomena and properties of interest include: magnetization dynamics, magnetic interactions, magnetic quantum confinement, spin tunneling and spin crossover, proximity and structural disorder effects, strain effects, microwave resonance and microwave assisted reversal, magnetic anisotropy, thermal and quantum fluctuations, topological spin textures, and effects of Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions.

The emergence of novel states of matter, arising from the intricate coupling of electronic and lattice degrees of freedom, is a unique feature in strongly correlated electron systems. This Focus Topic explores the nature of such ordered states observed in bulk compounds of transition metal oxides and multiferroics; it will provide a forum to discuss recent developments in first principles theory, simulation, synthesis, and characterization, with the aim of covering basic aspects and identifying future key directions in bulk oxides. Of special interest are the ways in which the spin, lattice, charge, and orbital degrees of freedom cooperate, compete, and/or reconstruct in transition metal oxides to produce novel phenomena. Associated with this complexity is a tendency for new forms of order, such as the formation of stripes, ladders, checkerboards, ferroic states, or phase separation. An additional focus of this session is on how competing interactions result in spatial correlations over multiple length scales, resulting in enhanced electronic and magnetic susceptibilities and responses to external stimuli.

Magnetism in complex oxides has long been a rich field of study in condensed matter physics due to the strong interactions between the spin, charge, lattice, and orbital degrees of freedom. When magnetic oxides are prepared in the form of heterostructures they can exhibit additional effects due to epitaxial strain, reduced dimensionality and a wide variety of interfacial phenomena such as charge transfer, orbital reconstruction, proximity effects, and modifications to local atomic structure come into play. Emergent electronic ground states at oxide interfaces generate exciting new prospects both for discovery of fundamental physics and development of technological applications. This Focus Topic is dedicated to developments in the understanding of the electronic and magnetic properties of oxide thin films, heterostructures, superlattices, and nanostructures, with an emphasis on synthesis, characterization, theory, and novel device physics. Specific areas of interest include, but are not limited to, growth of oxide materials, control of their magnetic properties and ordering, magnetotransport, magnetic behavior in strongly correlated systems, strong spin-orbit coupling effects, magnetoelectric phenomena, coupling of atomic and magnetic structures, and recent developments in theoretical prediction and materials-design approaches. Advances in techniques to probe and image magnetic order and transitions in complex oxide thin films (including scanning probes, optical, electron, neutron, and synchrotron-based techniques) are also emphasized. Note that overlap exists with other DMP and GMAG focus sessions. As a rule of thumb, if magnetism plays a key role in the investigation, then the talk is appropriate for this focus topic.

Spin-related effects in metals and ferromagnetic heterostructures of great interest from a fundamental science as well as from an application orientated point of view. Fundamental spin-dependent transport physics, novel materials and thin film structures are being actively explored in metallic multilayer-based junctions and magnetic tunnel junctions for deeper understanding and potentially new functional materials and devices. Discoveries like giant- or tunneling-magnetoresistance have rapidly moved to applications, and uses of more recent discoveries, including thermal effects, spin-transfer torque, the spin Hall effect and chiral domain walls, are imminent.

Simple antiferromagnets on bipartite lattices have well-understood ground states, elementary excitations, thermodynamic phases and phase transitions. At the forefront of current research are frustrated magnets where competing interactions suppress magnetic order and may lead to qualitatively new behavior.

Frustrated magnets may realize novel quantum-disordered ground states with fractionalized excitations akin to those found in one-dimensional antiferromagnets, but with a number of novel features. They are also sensitive to nominally small perturbations and interact in a non-trivial way with orbital and lattice degrees of freedom. This Focus Topic solicits abstracts for presentations that explore both theoretical and experimental aspects of the field. The themes to be represented are united by geometrical frustration: valence-bond solids, spin nematics, skyrmion crystals, and other exotic ordered states; spin ice, quantum spin liquids, order from disorder, magnetoelastic coupling, and novel field-induced behavior; synthesis and modeling of new materials with magnetic frustration. Also of interest are the effects of strongly fluctuating spins on properties beyond magnetism, including charge, spin, and energy transport transport, and ferroelectricity.

Research at the intersection of several forefront areas in condensed-matter and carbon-based material physics have led to new spin-dependent physics with technologically significant applications. These issues are of great current interest because of advances in spin relaxation times in graphene and breakthrough results in the field of ‘organic spintronics’, a new research area focused not only on the traditional topics of spintronics such as spin-polarization and spin-orbit effects but more importantly on spin-selection rules and spin-permutation symmetry effects. This Focus Topic is on spin transport, spin dynamics and exchange phenomena in carbon-based materials, such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, diamond as well as organic and molecular solids, organic radical systems, and π-conjugated organic/polymeric systems. Subjects such as spin injection at the metallic ferromagnet to graphene and inorganic to organic interface, the degree of spin polarization attainable within organic based solids, the spin coherence and relaxation related to extrinsic spin-orbit coupling effects, the hyperfine interaction between the electronic spin and nuclear magnetic moments, as well as the magnetic exchange, magnetic ordering and correlation effects in these materials are appropriate for this topic. Phenomena, materials of interest and the application for advanced devices include hybrid ferromagnetic/organic structures, spin transport in graphene and carbon nanotubes, spin qubits in diamond, quantum tunneling of the magnetic moment, magnetic field effects (e.g., organic magnetoresistance), singlet/triplet issues, spin resonance in organic semiconductors, organic spin valves and spin-polarized organic light emitting diodes.

The effects of quantum fluctuations upon interacting magnetic systems, enhanced by a small spin value or isotropic exchange, lead to remarkable effects such as the Bose Einstein condensation of magnons. Furthermore these effects are even more extreme for low dimensional systems or under magnetic field and qualitatively new behavior, such as a Tomonaga-Luttinger Liquid phase can emerge. Further reduction to zero-dimensionality, or molecular based magnets, introduces synthetic flexibility providing the possibility to engineer the magnetic quantum response of a system. The development and study of molecular and low-dimensional magnetic systems continues to provide a fertile testing ground to explore complex magnetic behavior. This Focus Topic solicits abstracts that explore inorganic and organic molecule-based, as well as solid state, systems, and both theoretical and experimental aspects of the field. Topics of interest include: magnetism in zero, one, and two dimensions (e.g. quantum dots, single molecule magnets, spin chains, lattices), order by disorder, the role of magnetoelastic, spin-orbit and super-exchange couplings, quantum critical low dimensional spin systems, topological excitations, quantum tunneling of magnetization, coherence phenomena, and novel field-induced behavior.

Complex oxides exhibit a rich variety of order parameters, such as polarization, magnetization, strain, charge and orbital degrees of freedom. The vast range of functional properties that emerge from their mutual coupling (e.g., ferroelectricity, magnetoelectricity, multiferroicity, metal-insulator transitions) are the main topics of interest for this symposium. Examples of current grand challenges include: (i) Novel mechanisms to break inversion symmetry in heterostructures and layered oxides. (ii) Viable routes to achieve a strong coupling between polarization and ferromagnetism at room temperature. (iii) Band-filling and bandwidth control in complex oxides (a prerequisite to harnessing charge/orbital order, magnetic transitions and metal insulator transitions). (iii) Electric field control of these phenomena - a very exciting prospect for both fundamental science and technology. (iv) Structure and properties of magnetoelectric domains and domain walls of these materials. (v) Emerging avenues to controlling polarization, magnetism and electronic properties via strain and/or strain gradients (e.g. flexoelectricity). Breakthroughs and progress in the theory, synthesis, characterization, and device implementations in these and other related topics are solicited for this Focus Topic.

The emergence of novel states of matter, arising from the intricate coupling of electronic and lattice degrees of freedom, is a unique feature in strongly correlated electron systems. This Focus Topic explores the nature of such ordered states observed in bulk compounds of transition metal oxides and multiferroics; it will provide a forum to discuss recent developments in first principles theory, simulation, synthesis, and characterization, with the aim of covering basic aspects and identifying future key directions in bulk oxides. Of special interest are the ways in which the spin, lattice, charge, and orbital degrees of freedom cooperate, compete, and/or reconstruct in transition metal oxides to produce novel phenomena. Associated with this complexity is a tendency for new forms of order, such as the formation of stripes, ladders, checkerboards, ferroic states, or phase separation. An additional focus of this session is on how competing interactions result in spatial correlations over multiple length scales, resulting in enhanced electronic and magnetic susceptibilities and responses to external stimuli.

Magnetism in complex oxides has long been a rich field of study in condensed matter physics due to the strong interactions between the spin, charge, lattice, and orbital degrees of freedom. When magnetic oxides are prepared in the form of heterostructures they can exhibit additional effects due to epitaxial strain, reduced dimensionality and a wide variety of interfacial phenomena such as charge transfer, orbital reconstruction, proximity effects, and modifications to local atomic structure come into play. Emergent electronic ground states at oxide interfaces generate exciting new prospects both for discovery of fundamental physics and development of technological applications. This Focus Topic is dedicated to developments in the understanding of the electronic and magnetic properties of oxide thin films, heterostructures, superlattices, and nanostructures, with an emphasis on synthesis, characterization, theory, and novel device physics. Specific areas of interest include, but are not limited to, growth of oxide materials, control of their magnetic properties and ordering, magnetotransport, magnetic behavior in strongly correlated systems, strong spin-orbit coupling effects, magnetoelectric phenomena, coupling of atomic and magnetic structures, and recent developments in theoretical prediction and materials-design approaches. Advances in techniques to probe and image magnetic order and transitions in complex oxide thin films (including scanning probes, optical, electron, neutron, and synchrotron-based techniques) are also emphasized. Note that overlap exists with other DMP and GMAG focus sessions. As a rule of thumb, if magnetism plays a key role in the investigation, then the talk is appropriate for this focus topic.

12: COMPLEX STRUCTURED MATERIALS, INCLUDING GRAPHENE (DCMP)

Graphene has been proposed for a range of applications that exploit it's unique chemical, mechanical, and electronic properties. However, a great deal of science remains to be done on the path to practical technologies. Keys to progress are the synthesis of high-quality materials, the understanding and control of defects, and the characterization of both intrinsic properties and those stemming from interfaces with other materials. Scalable growth techniques for single-layer and few-layer graphene, such as epitaxial growth on SiC and chemical vapor deposition on a variety of substrates, are of growing interest. Meanwhile, the creation of nearly ideal nanostructures through templated or bottom-up growth promises new science beyond the quantum limit. This graphene focus topic will cover:

experimental, theoretical, and computational studies illuminating various aspects of the growth process including, e. g., layer number and stacking geometry control, the formation of topological and structural defects, grain size and grain boundary control, and the effect of substrate chemistry, crystallography and strain

methods of doping

templated or bottom-up growth of nanostructures and integration with other materials

characterization and modeling of the structural, mechanical, electronic, and optical properties of the synthesized graphene, and methods for transferring synthesized graphene to other substrates and the impact of the transfer process

The rapidly expanding research on new 2D materials, many of which are semiconductors, has uncovered very diverse, often complementary properties to graphene. These promising 2D semiconductors need to be synthesized, explored and structured for devices, including integrating them with graphene. This Focus Topic will cover experimental and theoretical/computational work related to "beyond-graphene" 2D materials that are normally semiconductors, such as many chalcogenides (e.g., MoS2, WSe2, GaSe etc.), silicene, germanane, stannanane, and phosphorene. Topological insulators (e.g., Bi2Se3 or Bi2Te3), as well as large gap materials such as h-BN. Important areas of interest include determining and tuning the band structure and the resulting electronic and optical characteristics for monolayers, few-layers and heterostructures; understanding the role of the dielectric environment, many-body effects, and applied fields; thermal and mechanical properties; and materials synthesis, fabrication and integration for devices and applications.

The unprecedented range of spectacular electronic, structural, and transport properties of graphene has spurred a great deal of excitement and has prompted much hope in graphene’s potential use for device applications. To achieve this goal, a number of challenges need to be tackled, both on improving the understanding of graphene’s intrinsic properties and on solving practical difficulties related to integrating graphene with practical systems. This Focus Topic relates to experimental and theoretical studies of devices based on single- and multi-layered graphene. The graphene systems considered include but are not limited to electronic, optical, mechanical, thermal, and chemical structures and assemblies. We invite contributions on topics including: (i) the synthesis, fabrication, measurements, and modeling of graphene devices, (ii) proof-of-principle studies highlighting the promises of graphene for device applications, and (iii) interfacial, environmental, system-based analysis inherent to the practical use of graphene in future electronics.

Research exploring 2D materials beyond graphene is rapidly expanding to include a wide variety of layered material systems with diverse properties. There is enormous interest in building functional materials, structures and devices based on these 2D materials, including their integration with graphene. The isolation and synthesis of these novel 2D materials has become an important area of materials physics research. This Focus Topic will cover experimental and theoretical/computational work related to "beyond-graphene" 2D materials that are normally metallic, superconducting, magnetic, or insulating, including many layered chalcogenides (eg. NbSe2,TaS2, FeSe) and oxides (eg. BSCCO). Many of these materials also have other correlated electronic phases such as charge or spin density waves, Mott insulators, etc. All electronic, thermal, magnetic, and optical properties and functions of monolayers, few-layers and heterostructures of these materials are of interest. Material synthesis, fabrication and integration are also included, as well as devices and applications exploiting their unique properties.

Interest in the fundamental properties and applications of carbon nanotubes and related materials remains high. This is because of their unique combination of electrical, chemical, mechanical, thermal, optical, spectroscopic and magnetic properties. This focus topic addresses recent developments in the fundamental understanding of nanotubes and related materials, including synthesis, characterization, processing, purification, chemical, mechanical, thermal, electrical, optical, and magnetic properties. This session will highlight how these properties lead to new fundamental physical phenomena and existing or potential applications for interconnects, transistors, thermal management, composites, super-capacitors, nanosensors, nanoprobes, field emitters, storage media, magnetic devices, etc.. Experimental and theoretical contributions are solicited in the following areas:

Synthesis and characterization of nanotubes, nanohorns, nanocones, and related nanostructures;

Control or optimization of growth, including helicity control and in-situ studies;

Van der Waals interactions are ubiquitous in nature and play an important role in the structure, stability, and function of molecules and materials studied across all of the major disciplines of science, ranging from structural biology to supramolecular chemistry and condensed matter physics. These non-bonded interactions are inherently quantum mechanical phenomena resulting from dynamical correlation among collections of electrons, and remain a substantial challenge to date for both accurate first-principles theoretical calculations and direct experimental characterization. Hence, the aim of this Focus Topic is to directly address this challenge by highlighting the current state-of-the-art in both the theoretical description and experimental measurement of van der Waals interactions in materials of interest. In doing so, we hope to bridge the gap between theory and experiment, thereby laying the groundwork for future collaborative research - an approach that is necessary for describing these fundamental interactions in materials of increasing complexity. We also hope to strengthen links between the communities specialized in quantum chemistry, solid-state many-body theory, and Casimir physics.

12.1.6: Computational Discovery and Design of New Materials (DMP/DCOMP) (DCMP)

Advances in theoretical understanding, algorithms and computational power are enabling computational tools, which play an increasing role in materials discovery, development and optimization. For example, recently developed data mining (informatics) techniques, (un)supervised learning, and global exploration routines of energy landscapes enable the "virtual synthesis" of novel materials, with their properties being predicted in advance of laboratory synthesis. This focus topic will cover recent methodological developments and applications at the frontier of computational materials discovery and design, ranging from quantum-level prediction to macro-scale property optimization. Of particular interest are computational and theoretical studies that feature a strong connection to experiment and apply novel approaches to materials design using data/computation-intensive paradigms. Topics include, but are not limited to, first principles materials discovery, algorithms to search structure/composition design space, data-mining techniques, innovations that improve the scope, accuracy, and efficiency of computational materials discovery and design, and applications ranging from low-power electronics (Mottronics), energy conversion and storage materials (thermoelectrics, batteries, fuel cells, photovoltaics), to novel materials for non-linear optics and data processing (spintronics).

The emergence of novel states of matter, arising from the intricate coupling of electronic and lattice degrees of freedom, is a unique feature in strongly correlated electron systems. This Focus Topic explores the nature of such ordered states observed in bulk compounds of transition metal oxides and multiferroics; it will provide a forum to discuss recent developments in first principles theory, simulation, synthesis, and characterization, with the aim of covering basic aspects and identifying future key directions in bulk oxides. Of special interest are the ways in which the spin, lattice, charge, and orbital degrees of freedom cooperate, compete, and/or reconstruct in transition metal oxides to produce novel phenomena. Associated with this complexity is a tendency for new forms of order, such as the formation of stripes, ladders, checkerboards, ferroic states, or phase separation. An additional focus of this session is on how competing interactions result in spatial correlations over multiple length scales, resulting in enhanced electronic and magnetic susceptibilities and responses to external stimuli.

Magnetism in complex oxides has long been a rich field of study in condensed matter physics due to the strong interactions between the spin, charge, lattice, and orbital degrees of freedom. When magnetic oxides are prepared in the form of heterostructures they can exhibit additional effects due to epitaxial strain, reduced dimensionality and a wide variety of interfacial phenomena such as charge transfer, orbital reconstruction, proximity effects, and modifications to local atomic structure come into play. Emergent electronic ground states at oxide interfaces generate exciting new prospects both for discovery of fundamental physics and development of technological applications. This Focus Topic is dedicated to developments in the understanding of the electronic and magnetic properties of oxide thin films, heterostructures, superlattices, and nanostructures, with an emphasis on synthesis, characterization, theory, and novel device physics. Specific areas of interest include, but are not limited to, growth of oxide materials, control of their magnetic properties and ordering, magnetotransport, magnetic behavior in strongly correlated systems, strong spin-orbit coupling effects, magnetoelectric phenomena, coupling of atomic and magnetic structures, and recent developments in theoretical prediction and materials-design approaches. Advances in techniques to probe and image magnetic order and transitions in complex oxide thin films (including scanning probes, optical, electron, neutron, and synchrotron-based techniques) are also emphasized. Note that overlap exists with other DMP and GMAG focus sessions. As a rule of thumb, if magnetism plays a key role in the investigation, then the talk is appropriate for this focus topic.